Scholars Portal seeks to provide a robust long-term preservation environment for all the materials in its collection. Working from concepts set out in the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model and codified in the Trustworthy Repositories Audit & Certification (TRAC) checklist and ISO 16363 standard (Audit and Certification of Trustworthy Digital Repositories), Scholars Portal seeks to create a digital preservation system that can ensure the long-term viability of OCUL’s digital collections.
 

Our Commitment

We commit to ensure the Integrity, Authenticity and Usability of the materials in our collection now and in the future.

Integrity

The objects in our care are complete and uncorrupted copies of files that are known to be good.

Authenticity

We track the history of the object back to the time when it entered our care, and we have a record of any changes or processes that have acted on the file. In this way, we can verify that the digital objects in Scholars Portal are legitimate copies of the content deposited with us, and that no unauthorized action has been taken to change or obscure the content.

Usability

Recognizing that digital preservation means long-term access, our preservation practices are designed to ensure that our collections are always accessible to the user communities of the 21 OCUL member institutions. We acquire and deliver content in a format useful to our users, and we will strive to see that this continues to be the case, through active monitoring of file formats and a deep understanding of the needs of our community.
 

Our Accountability

As of February, 2013, Scholars Portal has been certified by the Center for Research Libraries as a Trustworthy Digital Repository for electronic journal content – the first such repository in Canada. This audit followed the guidelines set forth in the ISO 16363 standard, which evaluates repositories on three main areas: Organizational Infrastructure, Digital Object Management, and Infrastructure and Security Risk Management.

Organizational Infrastructure includes:

* Governance & organizational viability
* Preservation policy framework
* Contracts, licenses, and liabilities

Digital Object Management Includes:

* Preservation practices around the ingest of new content
* Archival object preservation and handling
* Access management

Infrastructure and Security Risk Management includes:

* Technical infrastructure management
* Security policies and procedures.
 

Our Documentation

The high-level policy framework describing Scholars Portal’s preservation mandate was approved by the OCUL Directors as of 12 May, 2011.

Scholars Portal has made available all the policies and plans that describe its preservation mandate and workflows. Those documents and responses to individual Audit and Certification of Trustworthy Digital Repositories Criteria are available at:
https://tdrdocs.scholarsportal.info/

Announcements

Press Release - 19 February 2013

Trustworthy Digital Repository certification

For more information about the TDR project please contact the Scholars Portal team.